Reviewer's comment:
A Tyranny of God is a remarkable accomplishment. Covering over five decades, it lays bare the terrible brutality of the Second World War, its lingering consequences, and the breathtaking mendacity of the RC Church in enabling it all.
In the novel, the reader follows the life of Adam Di Domenico, a Jewish boy adopted into the Church towards the end of the war, later becoming a priest, his heritage hidden. Through Adam, the reader is drawn into a world of political duplicity and deceit, which is nowhere more telling than in the Church's complicity in providing safe passage to Nazi war criminals at war's end.
If this political backdrop isn't compelling enough, the author manages to weave an intensely personal story, which sees Adam, now exiled by the Church to Canada, reunited with his sister, whom he believed lost in Auschwitz.
It's impossible to do justice to the various subplots in a short review; suffice it to say that this is a truly compelling read, from the opening pages through to the end. On the one hand, it celebrates the individual human spirit, while on the other pillorying organizations that would subvert that spirit to nefarious ends.
Not only is this novel clearly meticulously researched, it is also exceptionally well-written. If you're a fan of historical fiction, do yourself a favor and add A Tyranny of God to your must-read list.
A Reader's comment:
I read this book on Wattpad and loved it. The writing is beautiful and the characters engaging. A dark and rather gothic story that sucked me right in. You need to stick with it through the first part that has a lot of religious background because the protagonist is a little orphan boy who hides inside a church in Rome during the German occupation then later he becomes a priest. The action ramps up when he gets exiled to Canada and hooks up with a nun for some hot sex. I won't give away any spoilers. A very sensitive piece of writing with a heady mix of politics and sex. Not an erotic novel as such but still it held my interest until the very end. I felt close to the characters and they really made me think about how the world works. Recommending this book to anyone who enjoys a thought provoking and highly entertaining read.
Another reader's comment:
This is an interesting story from a historical standpoint. I wasn't sure if I was reading historical fact or fiction, it's so well told from an insider's POV, the omnipresent fly on the wall. A lot of attention to character development and detail here. An excellent and engrossingly read.